Literature and national consciousness in the expected new normal world: A reflexion on the reprieve of Jean-Paul Sartre

Abstract

The paper has addressed the dreadful and chaotic state of contemporary society in form of herdsmen attack, insurgency, banditry, revolutionary tendencies and war; as portrayed by Jean-Paul Sartre in The Reprieve. Our fundamental objectives are to unveil the horrible effects of violence and war in  our society and to project the role of literature and national consciousness in national transformation of characters, nation building, emergence of peace  and human freedom in the expected new normal world. We have adopted the analytic method. This method has helped us to critically examine and  unfold the catastrophic effects of war in The Reprieve. The paper has adopted the theory of existentialism and the socio-psycho critic approach. This  approach has helped us to understand and logically unveil the socio-psychological disposition of humanity in terms of war propaganda, the fear of war  outbreak, death and lamentations. We have discovered that literature is the instrument that develops national consciousness and national  transformation for peaceful coexistence in an ideal society. The paper reveals that in the new normal world human existence is built on ethical values of  justice, equity, integrity and prevalent peace.